With it being Sunday, I made sure to get my contemplative prayer session in before doing anything else, and since I slept in longer than expected, I was all the more wanting to get at it right away. If there’s been one noticeable benefit from it, I’d say I’m more aware of my own misgivings which when able to “see” them, it’s becomes all the easier to correct them, as well as being on guard so not to be making the same mistakes in the future.
I thought it a bit curious when a dear one called me quite early just to see how things have been on my side of the fence, and while in conversation, she blind-sighted me by asking if I’m still going to church, and if not, how I felt about it which came as quite the surprise as we’ve almost never spoken about things having to do with religion.
I paused a moment, and then went on to tell her what I’ve been doing these months since the pandemic arrived, and then giving her a condensed explanation of what contemplative prayer consists of, as well as the regimen I’ve been keeping. I also went on to share how it’s been exceptionally beneficial in keeping me from slipping to the dark side with our coronavirus infections continuing to grow, our political turmoil, social unrest, and the chasmic division of thought in our general public. Before changing the subject, she insisted she’s going to try it, but I did give warning it’s not something you do once and notice a marked change because one has to slowly work into it, and then it’s slowly revealed. While visiting, I continued to wonder why she asked, but then considered it none of my business, so if in the future she makes a choice to tell me why, then so be it.
Not long after that phone call, I received another from a young gentleman whom I’ve been showing homes on and off to these past months. To my surprise, he asked if I had time to show him 115 S. Connecticut whenever it worked. Well, we both agreed that since it was vacant, he just as well see it right away, so I met him at the house about twenty minutes later.
I wasn’t expecting him to be as smitten by the home as he appeared to be, but as I’ve said many times, it has much more going for it than any other home in its price range. We were at the property longer than I’d expected, so perhaps he’ll finally have his home readied for sale and get himself pre-approved by a local lender. Unfortunately he does have to sell his home before he can buy, but I think after today’s showing, he’ll work all the faster at getting his ducks in a row.
Since he’s been working from home more now, and it’ll likely remain that way, he’s wanting more room so he can segregate his home life from work hours. There’s no doubt in my mind this working from home is going to be yet another “here to stay” change we’ll be seeing after this pandemic is over, and for the very fact that it seems everyone is getting themselves up to speed with Zoom. I suppose if workers are going to be trapped at home, they might as well have the most pleasant of surroundings which I’m in full agreement because appropriate visuals can create increased productivity. You can be sure I’d not want a home office in a converted basement room or tiny spare bedroom.
After my showing was over, I changed my clothes and went to work on an outdoor project which lasted longer than I was expecting, but in the end, much more was accomplished. I dressed a little heavy because I didn’t want to get nailed by those jiggers, but was perspiring all the more due to how warm it grew after noontime arrived. I took a few breaks to rest a bit and then snapped a few photos of things I believed worth sharing. Tonight’s photo is what I’ve named “Golden Magnolia” because of how brilliant its leaves were. Talk about a stand-out amongst all that greenery. I found it very moving, and I hope you do too.
Several months ago, I picked up a good amount of Spruce cones which I placed in a woven basket in the front of my office which everyone including myself has found charming, so today, I was out picking up pine cones, and since I have another woven basket, I’ll also be placing them up front. Just having them in the back of my car for a short period of time, they managed filled it to the brim with a refreshing scent of pine.
There’s another breed of pine tree in the Downtown which has a very many cones under it, but of a different size and color, which I’ll also collect when I have time. That big boy drops a very many of them so I won’t be struggling to find enough. By the time I’m finished with my recent craze of gathering different varieties, people will think I’m working out of a “coney” office. Too funny.
With the afternoon half over, I went back to being a janitor in a drum with the deep cleaning of a home which had been lived in for three years too many by a person who likely had no clue about keeping a home clean. I’m sorry to say the number of people in our general public really don’t know how and/or refuse to clean up after themselves. It’s no wonder why all the many are paying visits to the doctors’ offices, and I’m sorry to say the layers of their filth are getting deeper.
I forgot to mention a conversation I had with a clever one who dropped by my office several days ago, and when talking about the unkempt exterior appearances of all the many homes in our City, he surprised me by saying, “As much as I want the exterior of my home to look its best, I’m not going to because the next thing I’d find, is a letter in my mailbox from our illustrious City Assessor saying my assessed value is being raised, and I’m not about to pay a $1,000 more to our wasteful City and State governments.” I couldn’t help seeing his point because we are comparatively taxed far too heavily.
Tonight’s one-liner is: The law cannot equalize mankind in spite of nature.
